Limit on contactless payments rises

Contactless payments are set to account for more retail transactions now the upper limit has increased from £20 to £30.

The UK Cards Association said the average supermarket shop of £25.17 now fell below the contactless limit, giving shoppers more choice about the way they paid for goods, according to The Grocer.

Software allowing for the greater payments started rolling out on 1 September among retailers that already accept contactless payment.

Payment processing company Worldpay said that many of the larger stores would be ready to take on the new limit straight away. It said an automated process called a “heartbeat” had started to update all the terminals used by smaller stores early yesterday (Tuesday) morning to increase the amount they were able to take on their Worldpay terminals.

Dave Hobday, managing director, said: “Increasing the limit to £30 will only intensify the demand for convenience and speed everywhere we shop.”

Retailers are encouraged to contact their point-of-sale device provider for information about upgrading their contactless terminal.

Method

Data from the UK Cards Association show consumers spent more than £2.5bn on contactless cards in the first half of the year compared with £2.32bn for all of 2014. Spend using the contactless method climbed from £287m a month in January to £567m in June.

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